Priests urge road caution after funerals in Donegal

Two priests have appealed to young people to respect the dangers on the roads as three Co Donegal friends were laid to rest following a head-on collision.

Steven McCafferty-McGrath, 19, Kaylem O’Muirchaidh, 19, and Teresa Robinson, 20, all perished when their cars collided on a remote road between Letterkenny and Drumkeen at 1am on Thursday.

All three were buried in separate funerals yesterday as hundreds of mourners heard how each had so much to live for.

However, Fr Eamonn Kelly and Fr Patrick Arkinson used the funerals to remind others about how fragile life is on the roads.

Mother-of-two Ms Robinson would have celebrated her 21st birthday at a party that had been planned by her family last Saturday, those who gathered at her funeral mass heard.

She was laid to rest following mass at St Patrick’s Church at the Cross Roads, Killygordon.

Chief celebrant Fr Patrick Arkinson, told those gathered, that Teresa’s death should never have happened.

He spoke of the unpredictability of life adding “that no one knows the day or the hour.”

He said that Teresa had died too young and that she had been very special and important to her family.

Fr Arkinson said the consequences of driving at speed can be devastating for several families.

“Driving is necessary in modern-day society. Vehicles are positive when driven with care. If one drives at speed and has an accident, the consequences can be devastating, not just for one or two but for several families as well,” he said.

He said that sadly Teresa’s two young boys Dara and Dillon would never remember their mother.

Meanwhile, speaking at the funeral of Steven McGrath-McCafferty at St Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny at the same time, Fr Eamonn Kelly also pleaded with drivers to slow down on the roads. Fr Kelly told mourners in blunt terms that if people drove more slowly they would have a great chance of surviving a crash or not crashing at all.

“We are a fragile people. We cannot get beyond that reality. We are not as sturdy as we pretend. I appeal to all who use our roads to slow down, to be careful, to be cautious.

“We all have a responsibility to make a difference. It is about a change of attitude. It is about realising that it can happen to me; that we will not always just get away with it, that it will not always be a near miss.”

The funeral also took place of the final member of the circle of friends to die in the horrific crash, Kaylem O’Muirchaidh. Kaylem was buried following funeral mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Glenfin for funeral mass at 11am.

On Saturday, two cousins, Barney McGinley, 28 and Dermot Boyle, 19, were laid to rest in Letterkenny after they had also been involved in a head-on collision at 4.45am on Wednesday outside Letterkenny.